Actuator for pressurized dispensing cans



June 23, 1964 1.. F. KUTIK 3,138,331

ACTUATOR FOR PRESSURIZED DISPENSING CANS Filed July 30, 1962 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

LOUIS F. KUTIK ATTORNEY June 23, 1964 uT 3,138,331

ACTUATOR FOR PRESSURIZED DISPENSING CANS Filed July 50, 1962 2Sheets-Sheet 2 w mam.

I I INVENTOR. LOUIS F. KUTIK F|6.12 BY ATTORNE United States PatentOffice 3,138,331 Patented June 23, 1964 3,138,331 ACTUATOR FORPRESSURIZED DISPENSING CANS Louis F. Kutik, 5601 SW. 56th St., FortLauderdale, Fla. Filed July 30, 1962, Ser. No. 213,424 10 Claims. (Cl.239-337) This invention relates to spraying devices, and moreparticularly to a device adapted to be fitted upon the top of apressurized or spray can to spray the contents thereof.

In many cans of this kind, such as those which are used for containinginsecticides, deodorants, liquid soaps and many other liquidpreparations, a plun er is provided at the top which, upon itsdepression, opens a valve and causes the spraying out of the cancontents. The ease with which these cans can be sprayed often causesthem to be taken from the shelves in stores and test sprayed bycustomers. This results in the reduction of the can contents so thatmany of the cans when purchased, are partially emptied or do not containthe required full amount of contents. Also, some of these cans are soconstructed that the possibility of them being accidentally sprayed islikely.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a spraying devicewhich will prevent the unauthorized or accidental spraying of a canscontents; which can be made economically, and if desired in whole or inpart of a plastic material; which will be provided with closure meanspreventing accidental spilling; which will aid in directing the spraytoward the desired area of dispersion; which can be made either as aremovable or non-removable attachement to a spraycan, and which willpossess numerous other advantages apparent to those skilled in this art.

More particularly, the invention contemplates the provision of acup-shaped cap member fitted over the plunger of a pressurized containeror spray can, and which cap member is provided with a hinged leverextending across the top of the cap member, the cap member beingprovided in its top wall with an aperture for permitting access to theplunger, and the lever carrying a bodily-shiftable element capable ofmovement to either align it with the aperture and permit it to engagethe plunger, or else be moved to disalign it with the aperture so thatthe plunger will not be moved when the lever is moved downwardly.

With these and other objects to be hereinafter set forth in view, I havedevised the arrangement of parts to be described and more particularlypointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein several illustrative embodimentsof the invention are disclosed,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, withthe parts thereof in the inoperative position of the device;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 2-2 of FIG.1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view through the operating lever, withthe depressing pin in operative position;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view, taken at right angles to that ofFIG. 2, showing the spraying device in position for depression toinitiate the spraying operation;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, but showing the operating lever inits depressed position in order to secure the spray ejection;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the parts of the device;

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view of another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 8-8 of FIG.7, looking in the di ection of the arrows;

FIG. 9 is a top plan View of another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a side elevation, with parts in section, of the embodimentshown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a transverse sectional view through the operating lever ofthe embodiment of FIGS. 9 and 10, and through the slidable depressingpin, and

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIGURE 10 but showing the slide 31 in theoperative position. I

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 to 6thereof, there is therein shown at 1, a part of a can or pressurizedcontainer upon which the improved spray device or head is adapted to befitted. Such a can is provided at the top with a neck, not shown, butwhich is formed with a bead adapted for interengagement with an annulargroove 2, formed at the bottom part of a cupshaped cap member 3. Theimproved spray head, of which the cap 3 forms a part, is preferably, butnot necessarily made of molded plastic material and if desired the otherparts of the device may also be composed ofa suitable plastic. A plasticsuch as polypropylene is suitable for the purpose since such material isresistant to the eitects of acids, paints and chemicals.

By the attachment of the cap 3 to the top of the can, the sprayingdevice is securely fitted in place. The cap 3 includes acentrally-located open bottom chamber 4 within which a head 5 isslidable, said head being provided with an outlet opening 6 in its sidewall, and through which, when the head is depressed as shown in FIG. 5,the fluid in spray form will be forced out through a frusto-conicaloutlet passage 7 provided in the side of the cap. The frusto conicalpassage 7 when aligned with the opening 6 permits the contents of thecan to be discharged in a conical spray and the passage 7 causes thematerial from the can to be mixed with air and a turbulence is createdin the passage .7 wheerby the insecticide or other material isdischarged in a more efficient manner. The lower end of the head 5 isprovided with a stem 8 which extends down into the can I. On its upperend, the head 5 is provided with a square shank 9 guided in acomplementarily-shaped opening 10 provided in the top wall 11 of thecap. The parts 5, 8 and 9 co-operate in forming a plunger which, uponits depression, causes the ejection of the liquid contents of the canout of the aligned outlets 6 and 7.

The opening 10 in the cap 3 is normally closed by a membrane ordiaphragm which prevents leakage or evap oration of the can contents.The diaphragm 12 requires rupturing to permit of access to the shank 9by a depressing pin or similarly-operating element to be presentlydescribed.

At 15 is indictaed a pivoted lever, provided at one end with adown-turned finger piece 16, which may be roughened or serrated as shownat 17 for facilitating finger engagement with the lever. The fingerpiece 16 extends downwardly alongside the body 3 which greatly increasesthe leverage with respect to the lever 15 and allows the operator toactuate the lever in a balanced position with the hand grasping the canwhile the operator depresses the finger piece 16 with the thumb. Asclearly seen in FIG. 3, the lever 15, including the finger piece 16thereof, is of channel shape in cross section, with the channel openingdownwardly, and at its forward end it is formed with a groove 17 forsnap engagement with a cylindrical head 18 formed integrally with and onthe top of the cap 3. By this interengaging arrangement of the parts 17and 18, a hinged connection is established between the lever 15 and thecap 3.

Extending downwardly from the lever 15 and projecting out of the channelthereof, is a guide finger 19 provided with a slightly hooked end 20,and said finger is slidable through a guide opening 21 provided in thetop wall 11 of the cap 3. In its raised position, the finger has its'tOOkfid end 26 engaging under the top wall lit adjacent to the guideopening 21 so that the limited upward swing of the lever is determined.

Normally extending laterally of the lever 15 as shown in FIG. 1 is a tabor flap 22, and extending from the then upper face of the tab or flap isa pin 23, which pin constitutes a depressing pin which, when properlypositioned in axial alignment with the shank 9, will, upon downwarddepression of the lever 15, depress the shank 9 down to the positionshown in FIG. 5, wherein the outlet opening 6 in the head will beproperly aligned with the outlet passage 7 and the spray willaccordingly be ejected from the can.

While the filled can remains on the shelves of a store or elsewherewhere it is not intended for unauthorized use, the tab or flap 22 isintended to remain positioned laterally of the lever as shown in FIG. 1.When the parts are in the position shown in FIG. 1, lever 15 may befreely depressed, but since the pin 23 projects upwardly and isdisaligned from the shank 9, the head 5 will not be reached by the pinand will not be depressed and hence no spraying will take place.

The flap or tab 22 is integrally connected to the lever 15 by means of aflexible web 24 constituting a hinge which, when doubled upon itself asshown in FIG. 3, will perrnit the tab or flap 22 to be swung underneaththe channelled under face of the lever and will bridge the channelthereof, as clearly seen in FIG. 3. When the tab or flap 22 is locatedin this position, the pin 23 thereon will be facing downwardly and willalso be in axial alignment with the aperture 18 and the shank 9 locatedtherein. Thus, when the lever 15 is then depressed, thedownwardly-projecting pin 23 will puncture the diaphragm 12 and willthen contact with the upper end of the shank 9 forcing the head 5downwardly to the spraying position, substantially as shown in FIG. 5.

In order to hold the tab 22 in its operative position across the bottomof the lever 15 as shown in FIG. 3, a locking arrangement is provided byforming the free end of the tab or flap 2.2 with a hook portion forengagement with a bead or projecting rib 26 formed on the lower end ofone of the side walls of the lever 15.

From the foregoing, the operation of the improved spray head will bereadily understood. The condition of the parts of the device while thecan is in a store or stored elsewhere, is shown in FIG. 1, wherein itwill be observed that the tab or flap 22 is disposed laterally of thelever 15 and with its pin 23 projecting upwardly. While the parts are inthis position, the lever 15 may be freely depressed without resulting inthe spraying of the can contents, since the head 5 will not bedepressed. When it is desired to place the spraying device in therequired operative position, the tab or flap 22 is then swung downwardlyon its hinge 24 to bring it beneath the lever 15 and hold it in suchposition by causing the interengagernent of the locking parts 25 and 26.Then, when the lever 15 is depressed, the pin 23 being aligned with theshank 9, will puncture the diaphragm 12 and depress the head 5 to causethe liquid contents of the can to be sprayed out through the alignedoutlets 6 and 7.

The parts may be left in the operative position just described, or thedevice can be rendered inoperative by swinging the tab or flap 22 outwarly to its lateral position as shown in FIG. 1, so that subsequenthandling by children for example, and the depression of the lever 35,will not result in spraying.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 7and 8, the ilap or tab therein shown at 22ais similar to that shown at 22 in the first-described embodiment, exceptthat the tab 22a is not provided with a depressing pin. In thisembodiment, the shank shown at 9a is increased in length so that itprojects above the top wall 11 of the cap 3 and extends into the channel46 of the lever 15 when the lever is depressed. As long as the tab orflap 22a is extended laterally of the lever 15 as was described withrespect to the tab 22, the lever 15 when downwardly moved, will notdepress the shank 9a since the shank will fit in the channel of thelever and will not be moved. However, the flap or tab 22a bridges thechannel of the lever, as shown in FIG. 8, the tab or flap 22a will, uponthe descent of the lever 15, contact with the top of the shank 9a tothereby depress the same bringing the head 5 down to the position tocause spray ejection.

A further embodiment is shown in FIGS. 9 to 11 inclusive. Therein thelever 15 is provided in its top wall with an elongated slot 30 in whicha slide 31 is mounted. Said slide is provided with a roughened orserrated upper surface 32 for engagement by the finger of the operatorto move the slide back and forth as required, within the limit permittedby the slot. The opposite edges of the slide are grooved as shown at 38to receive the side edges of the slot 30 and to enable the slide to beeasily moved back and forth. When the slide is in its rearward orretracted position, as shown in FIG. 10, any downward depression of thelever 15 will bring the end of a depressing pin 23b, provided on thebottom of the slide 31 and projecting downwardly therefrom, into contactwith a clearance groove 34 provided in the top wall 11 of the cap. Thisinclined groove is effective to guide the pin 2% since the same is ofrelatively rigid material, causing no damage to the pin. At this time,the pin 23, being disaligned from the opening 10, will neither rupturethe diaphragm 12 nor depress the head 5. Therefore, as long as the slide31 is in its retracted position the device will remain inoperative asfar as spraying is concerned. When it is deisred to spray the contentsof the can, the slide 31 is advanced forwardly in the slot 30 bypressure of the finger of the operator, to the position shown in FIG.10, whereupon depression of the lever 15 will cause the pin 23]), thenpositioned above the head 5 to puncture the diaphragm 12 and depress thehead 5 to align the spray outlets 6 and '7 and cause spraying of the cancontents.

It will be apparent from the foregoing, that a spraying device isprovided which is clean and easily operated. When in the condition shownin FIGS. 1 and 10, the parts are so arranged that inadvertent orunauthorized depression of the operating lever will not cause sprayejection. Because of the fact that the entire device may be made ofmolded plastic it can be inexpensively made and sold, The large lever 15and its location provides for easy operation and for the direction ofthe spray toward the area to be sprayed, and many other advantages areapparent to those skilled in this art.

Having thus described several embodiments of the invention, it isobvious that the same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broadenough to cover all structures coming within the scope of the annexedclaims.

What I claim is:

1. A spraying head for pressurized cans including a plunger to bedepressed to spray the contents of the can, said head including a capfitted over the plunger, a lever pivotally mounted across the top of thecap, the cap being provided with an aperture for access to the plunger,the plunger having a head provided with a spray outlet, the cap having aconical spray opening for registry with the outlet, and a pin carried bythe lever, said pin being mounted so as to be bodily shifted to eitherdisalign it with the aperture in the cap or else align it therewith sothat upon the depression of the lever the pin will enter the apertureand depress the plunger to cause the alignment of the spray outlet andthe conical opening resultin g in the spraying of the can contents.

2. A spraying head as provided for in claim 1, wherein the pin ismounted on a hinged tab movable to position the pin either directlybeneath the lever or to one side of the same, whereby the pin in thelatter position will be disaligned from the aperture in the cap.

3. A spraying head as provided for in claim 1, wherein the pin ismounted on a slide movable with respect to the lever, said slide by itsmovements permitting the pin to be either aligned with the aperture inthe cap or disaligned therewith.

4. A spraying head for pressurized cans including a plunger adapted tobe depressed to spray the contents of the can, said head including a capfitted on the can above the plunger, a channel-shaped lever pivotallymounted across the top of the cap, the cap being provided with anaperture below the lever for access to the plunger, the plungerincluding a head having a spray outlet, the cap having a frusto conicalspray opening for alignment with the spray outlet and whereby a conicalspray will be discharged from the spray opening, and an element carriedby the lever and bodily movable relatively to the same to either causesaid element to engage and depress the plunger upon depression of thelever, or else be so disaligned with the plunger that it will notdepress the plunger when the lever is depressed, the lever beingprovided with a finger piece that extends downwardly alongside the headand whereby the device and the can may be held in a balanced positionwhile the finger piece is shifted toward the head.

5. A spraying head as provided for in claim 4, wherein the element is apivoted flap which, in its disaligned position projects laterally of thelever, and which in its position of alignment with the plunger projectsbelow and engages the plunger.

6. A spraying head as provided for in claim 5 wherein the pivoted flapis provided with a pin which extends upwardly when the flap is disposedlaterally of the lever, and which pin projects downwardly when the flapis positioned below the lever.

7. A spraying head as provided for in claim 5, wherein the flap isconnected to the lever by an integral, flexible web, foldable to act asa hinge for the flap and permitting the flap to be pivotally moved fromits lateral position to its position beneath the lever.

8. A spraying head for a pressurized can having a plunger adapted to bedepressed to spray the contents of the can, said head including a capfitted over the plunger, the cap having an aperture for access to theplunger, the plunger having a spray outlet, the cap having a frustoconical outlet opening for registry with the spray outlet, the leverbeing channel shaped in cross section, with its channel openingdownwardly, a flap integrally attached to the lever and pivotal to beeither disposed alongside of the lever or else positioned below thechannel thereof, and a pin integrally projecting from a face of the flapand projecting upwardly therefrom while the flap is positioned alongsideof the lever and projecting downwardly while the flap is located beneaththe lever, said pin when in its downwardly-projecting position beinglocated above and capable of movement through the aperture in the capwhen the lever is depressed.

9. A spraying head for a pressurized can having a plunger to bedepressed to spray the contents of the can, said head including a capfitted over the plunger, a lever pivotally mounted across the top of thecan, the lever having a downwardly directed finger piece that ispositioned alongside the head, the lever having a slot, a slide mountedfor movement in the slot, the slide having a downwardly-projecting pin,the cap having an aperture in its top through which said pin is movablein one position of the slide to thereby reach and depress the plunger,the pin being disaligned from the aperture when the slide is in anotherposition.

10. A spraying head for a pressurized can comprising, a plunger forcausing spraying of the can contents when said plunger is depressed, acap fitted on the can over the plunger, a lever pivoted on the cap, apivoted flap on one side of the lever, a pin projecting from the flap,the flap being pivoted to enable it to be positioned alongside of thelever or underneath the lever, the cap having a top opening in which apart of the plunger is exposed, the pin being capable of entry throughthe top opening to thereby reach and depress the plunger when the pin ispositioned beneath the lever and when the lever is depressed, the pinbeing ineffective to depress the plunger when the flap is positionedalongside of the lever and while the lever is then depressed with theflap in such position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,557,957 Ferguson June 26, 1951 2,621,973 Lodes Dec. 16, 1952 2,761,594Stroh Sept. 4, 1956 2,765,965 Reswick Oct. 9, 1956 2,772,819 Poarch etal. Dec. 4, 1956 2,975,943 Miles et al Mar. 21, 1961

1. A SPRAYING HEAD FOR PRESSURIZED CANS INCLUDING A PLUNGER TO BEDEPRESSED TO SPRAY THE CONTENTS OF THE CAN, SAID HEAD INCLUDING A CAPFITTED OVER THE PLUNGER, A LEVER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ACROSS THE TOP OF THECAP, THE CAP BEING PROVIDED WITH AN APERTURE FOR ACCESS TO THE PLUNGER,THE PLUNGER HAVING A HEAD PROVIDED WITH A SPRAY OUTLET, THE CAP HAVING ACONICAL SPRAY OPENING FOR REGISTRY WITH THE OUTLET, AND A PIN CARRIED BYTHE LEVER, SAID PIN BEING MOUNTED SO AS TO BE BODILY SHIFTED TO EITHERDISALIGN IT WITH THE APERTURE IN THE CAP OR ELSE ALIGN IT THEREWITH SOTHAT UPON THE DEPRESSION OF THE LEVER THE PIN WILL ENTER THE APERTUREAND DEPRESS THE PLUNGER TO CAUSE THE ALIGNMENT OF THE SPRAY OUTLET ANDTHE CONICAL OPENING RESULTING IN THE SPRAYING OF THE CAN CONTENTS.